Life growing up in the 1970’s

[cowpins]

I loved the 70’s as a kid. We were always outside having fun with no parental control.

I was big into bike riding and this was the height of Evel Knievel and Smokey and The Bandit, so you learn the limits of how much dumb shit you can get away with before you fuck your self up the hard way.

I lived out in the country and had a big ass yard (which was great to play that baseball game 500 in), and we used to hydroslide on ATC's (3-wheelers) in the backyard. Basically got a ski rope and attached a piece of plywood to the ATC, hop on and go. It's all fun and games until your buddy gets you in a tight turn and then thing goes airborne sideways (like a kite souring away) with you on it. Def had my share of bumps, bruises, and stitches from said ATC's.

We would also soak tennis balls in kerosene, light them, and play catch at night with my moms oven mitts, which didn't go over well.

The 70's were the best. Oh, need to add the Dukes of Hazzard to the mix.

[eddie lee roth]

It appears there may be hope for the future after all. According to this new study kids would prefer to hangout with their friends in person and preferably without a hovering parent nearby.

So maybe hearing about grandpa and grandma growing up in the 70’s sounds like something they’d like to experience.

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archi ... om/683742/

[TravisBicklesMohawk]

Before cable was widespread there was satellite TV. I mean REAL satellite TV. Not trash like Dish Network or DIRECTV.

I'm talking that HUGE dish that only bars and "well-off" people had.

You could catch all kinds of stuff on those things. Hardcore porn, sports and all kinds of crazy channels from around the world.

An engineer by trade, this guy managed to catch state-run TV from North Korea on his old-school dish:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eBknQAwKe8c

My father first got one of the big dishes in the late 80s and still had one in the 90s. He was a big sports fan and loved the idea of getting live feeds without commercials. You could hear what the announcers were saying during commercial breaks.

Yep. This is how we had the Free HBO in every room craze at hotels/motels.
My uncle had one and I remember him being furious when HBO said no more of the free stuff. Everyone is gonna pay!

[TravisBicklesMohawk]

Speaking of tv . . .
In the 70s
TV use to cut out at 12:00 am. The Star-Spangled Banner would come on. And that was it until around 5 am.
Also, before cable, we only had 5 channels to watch:
CBS Channel 4
NBC Channel 6
ABC Channel 8
PBS Channel 12
And our local channel WGNO Channel 26.
Getting cable was so surreal. Use to watch WTBS, the Atlanta station all the time as it had the best stuff. We all turned into Homer Simpson completely addicted!
Good times!

[Rocker4Real]

Speaking of tv . . .
In the 70s
TV use to cut out at 12:00 am. The Star-Spangled Banner would come on. And that was it until around 5 am.
Also, before cable, we only had 5 channels to watch:
CBS Channel 4
NBC Channel 6
ABC Channel 8
PBS Channel 12
And our local channel WGNO Channel 26.
Getting cable was so surreal. Use to watch WTBS, the Atlanta station all the time as it had the best stuff. We all turned into Homer Simpson completely addicted!
Good times!

They were still having channels go out with the star spangled banner into the 90s, unless you had cable. My parents were cool enough to let me have a TV in my room, with cable, at 12 years old. That thing was always on. I'd even watch infomercials and religious programs for fun.

[eddie lee roth]

I remember eating cereal and being in control of the living room tv on Saturday mornings. That’s when all the cartoons came on it was perfect for a kid.

The big three aimed tv just for us. After morning time it was time to get your ass outside. No more cartoons for you. The Networks say so!

[Don't Damn Me]

I think the country invested more on pop culture than ever before in the 70s. I didn't want a toy that was made of wood or metal. Plastic is where it was at. They threw all sorts of action figures at us, licensing became huge. You could get cool cheap toys too like Spider-Man's web shooter or a Star Trek phaser water gun. Huffies and Hobie made bikes and skateboards affordable. Every 7-Eleven had a crazy variety of comic books trading cards for about every licensing opportunity possible. It was as if everything was designed to engage the kids. It was a new hyper modern era. Gave us Rock spectacles like Kiss, special effects masterpieces like Star Wars and the scariest horror yet with jaws. But that didn't mean we weren't tossing around the nerf football or cracking pur ribs on slip and slide.
I wrote a song about childhood in the 70s:

https://youtu.be/s-RnjoPOnDI?si=0b7QmljgSEvoznrz

[Love_Industry]

Speaking of tv . . .
In the 70s

Reading all of this makes me understand why all kids in Sweden admired and wanted to go to America in the 70s and 80s. It was really a different world.

The 70s were pretty crap here, the rapid economic decline notwithstanding. Sweden dropped from 4th place in the OECD GDP ranking to outside the top 10 and the country and people became visibly poorer. TV and movies were censored for all signs of violence or sex and in theatres often given an adults only rating. And there were only 2 tv channels both state operated and mostly running weird domestic productions or whatever they could buy cheaply from America or for kids programming mostly Eastern Europe. Crime and violence was peaking so all this free play outside maybe happened in villages but not in cities or suburbs, you played at friends' homes - after letting both sets of parents know you were going there - or in designated playgrounds where there always were parents around. Oh and food was atrocious, mostly artificial prefab stuff with tons of additives before they started regulating it. Worst of all were the school lunches and they were mandatory.

[Hellsinkey]

Speaking of tv . . .
In the 70s

And there were only 2 tv channels both state operated and mostly running weird domestic productions or whatever they could buy cheaply from America or for kids programming mostly Eastern Europe. Crime and violence was peaking so all this free play outside maybe happened in villages but not in cities or suburbs, you played at friends' homes.

Sounds similar and different. Only two channels here in the 70's too and sounds like similar programming.

I remember visiting relatives in Göteborg in the 70's and playing outside and it seemed alright, but then I was a kid. It has been peaceful here pretty much until recent years, but now here are immigrant gangs like in Sweden and alpha-pvp epidemic, so a lot more drug users.

[Love_Industry]

I remember visiting relatives in Göteborg in the 70's and playing outside and it seemed alright, but then I was a kid. It has been peaceful here pretty much until recent years, but now here are immigrant gangs like in Sweden and alpha-pvp epidemic, so a lot more drug users.

Sweden was also rather peaceful until recently and still mostly is unless you're a drug dealing immigrant, but in the 70s it was a shithole crime wise. Personal experience - a bank in the nearest shopping center was robbed by an armed gang, we had our cars and bikes stolen a couple of times, and a group of teenagers murdered a disabled man in a house I saw every day. Wait, that may have been the early 80s which were just as bad.

Things improved a lot in the mid 90s or so, people don't remember how bad it was before that especially in the then-new remote suburbs.

[Don't Damn Me]

I remember visiting relatives in Göteborg in the 70's and playing outside and it seemed alright, but then I was a kid. It has been peaceful here pretty much until recent years, but now here are immigrant gangs like in Sweden and alpha-pvp epidemic, so a lot more drug users.

" immigrants gangs" that's a phrase censored into almost non-existence.

I don't know where you are exactly but was it like Germany?
I read claims that like 10 years ago Merkel had everybody in the population on board excited and celebrating the daily arrival of immigrants. But after a while with the flow never stopping many of them turn to crime and it becomes a less safe place to live

[Hellsinkey]

I remember visiting relatives in Göteborg in the 70's and playing outside and it seemed alright, but then I was a kid. It has been peaceful here pretty much until recent years, but now here are immigrant gangs like in Sweden and alpha-pvp epidemic, so a lot more drug users.

" immigrants gangs" that's a phrase censored into almost non-existence.

I don't know where you are exactly but was it like Germany?
I read claims that like 10 years ago Merkel had everybody in the population on board excited and celebrating the daily arrival of immigrants. But after a while with the flow never stopping many of them turn to crime and it becomes a less safe place to live

No, I'm for Helsinki (as the nym says), Finland. There was a refugee crisis in 2015 and immigration flood. Of course it's not as bad as in Germany or Sweden, but things have definitely turned for the worse after that. The words "immigrants gangs" aren't definitely censored here, it's mentioned in the media too.

[Love_Industry]

No, I'm for Helsinki (as the nym says), Finland. There was a refugee crisis in 2015 and immigration flood. Of course it's not as bad as in Germany or Sweden, but things have definitely turned for the worse after that. The words "immigrants gangs" aren't definitely censored here, it's mentioned in the media too.

Here it's even the opposite, we had "immigrant gangs" and immigration problems shoved down our throats by mainstream media and almost all political parties except maybe the Greens but they were in coalition with the much bigger Social Democrats and kind of disappeared..

Things did technically turn for worse around 2019-20 but it has very little to do with the "refugee crisis" in 2015. Most members of "immigrant gangs" are either teenagers born in Sweden as 2nd gen or came from the Balkans or Somalia in the 1990s. The "refugee crisis" was mostly media hype like the pandemic (yeah people cough and get high fever, and some with other illnesses die - we used to call it seasonal flu...) but it gave us the most useless and incompetent government in 50 years. Hey Uffe, don't want to go see a movie at Grand in Sveavägen?

[GoodJudge]

Hey Uffe, don't want to go see a movie at Grand in Sveavägen?

Is that an Olaf Palme reference?

I was born in '72 so don't properly remember much of the 70s but it was probably closer to your experience than the US ones. I can't say I had it hard as we were a middle class family and the two houses we lived in had big gardens.

I do remember punk happening as the big kid a couple of doors away was a fan, and at age 7ish I remember trying (and failing) to persuade my mum to buy me the tightest drainpipe jeans. We had a whole 3 tv channels, all very tame, but I was more of a reader (still am). There was a lot of industrial unrest and I remember we always had a good supply of candles in case the electricity workers went on strike again.

[TravisBicklesMohawk]

Has anyone mentioned the family structure - in the US - during the 70s and how vastly different it is today?

My dad worked, my mom stayed home, and did mom things, as did most, if not all of my friends.

He was a manager of a successful hotel in the city, so we were considered upper middle-class. We had nice things, but nothing special.

Today my dad's salary probably wouldn't pay the rent on a basic two-bedroom apartment, and my mom would definitely have to go to work.

Didn't realize how easy we had it during those times.

[Hellsinkey]

Has anyone mentioned the family structure during the 70s and how vastly different it is today?

My dad worked, my mom stayed home, and did mom things

Yeah, my dad worked and the lazy bitch who was my stepmom, stayed at home and did nothing. It was until me and my stepsister were teens that my dad actually told her that, you could go to work, you know. It was a relief.

[Love_Industry]

Hey Uffe, don't want to go see a movie at Grand in Sveavägen?

Is that an Olaf Palme reference?

I was born in '72 so don't properly remember much of the 70s but it was probably closer to your experience than the US ones. I can't say I had it hard as we were a middle class family and the two houses we lived in had big gardens.

Totally Palme reference, but Uffe does not refer to him, it's a nickname for Ulf (Kristersson, current PM). And I am not much older than you actually.

[Love_Industry]

Has anyone mentioned the family structure during the 70s and how vastly different it is today?

My dad worked, my mom stayed home, and did mom things

Yeah, my dad worked and the lazy bitch who was my stepmom, stayed at home and did nothing. It was until me and my stepsister were teens that my dad actually told her that, you could go to work, you know. It was a relief.

That sucks but isn't it even worse if she would have stayed home on your dad's request? I knew couples like that in the 70s and 80s where women with jobs and sometimes higher education were convinced by their husbands to stay home for decades because it made them look good or something. And was not like they had inherited wealth and didn't need her money....

[Metal Sludge]

Has anyone mentioned the family structure - in the US - during the 70s and how vastly different it is today?

My dad worked, my mom stayed home, and did mom things, as did most, if not all of my friends.

He was a manager of a successful hotel in the city, so we were considered upper middle-class. We had nice things, but nothing special.

Today my dad's salary probably wouldn't pay the rent on a basic two-bedroom apartment, and my mom would definitely have to go to work.

Didn't realize how easy we had it during those times.

All of my parents worked. Mom and Stepdad, Dad and Stepmom.

I would say we were middle class, although I did grow up in Irvine, CA. Mostly because my Stepdad was a Marine, stationed at El Toro.
Irvine is a very expensive city to live in now, but in the 70's, not so much. It was flanked by 2 Marine bases, and housing had to be affordable for them.
We didn't become upper middle class until my stepdad retired in 1978, got a job, and had his pension as well.

My Dad and Stepmom lived in Reno, NV. Summers and holidays were a lot of fun there.

[Hellsinkey]

Has anyone mentioned the family structure during the 70s and how vastly different it is today?

My dad worked, my mom stayed home, and did mom things

Yeah, my dad worked and the lazy bitch who was my stepmom, stayed at home and did nothing. It was until me and my stepsister were teens that my dad actually told her that, you could go to work, you know. It was a relief.

That sucks but isn't it even worse if she would have stayed home on your dad's request? I knew couples like that in the 70s and 80s where women with jobs and sometimes higher education were convinced by their husbands to stay home for decades because it made them look good or something. And was not like they had inherited wealth and didn't need her money....

It was good that she went to work, but she should have gone years earlier. She was a nightmare when my dad was away on business trips, but I learned to defend myself.

[Metal Sludge]

Speaking of tv . . .
In the 70s

Reading all of this makes me understand why all kids in Sweden admired and wanted to go to America in the 70s and 80s. It was really a different world.

The 70s were pretty crap here, the rapid economic decline notwithstanding. Sweden dropped from 4th place in the OECD GDP ranking to outside the top 10 and the country and people became visibly poorer. TV and movies were censored for all signs of violence or sex and in theatres often given an adults only rating. And there were only 2 tv channels both state operated and mostly running weird domestic productions or whatever they could buy cheaply from America or for kids programming mostly Eastern Europe. Crime and violence was peaking so all this free play outside maybe happened in villages but not in cities or suburbs, you played at friends' homes - after letting both sets of parents know you were going there - or in designated playgrounds where there always were parents around. Oh and food was atrocious, mostly artificial prefab stuff with tons of additives before they started regulating it. Worst of all were the school lunches and they were mandatory.

Really? That's so interesting. I've never heard that before.
How did they turn that around? Because for the last few decades, Sweden has been one of the safest places to live, from what I've read.
And what were you eating for lunch at school? It couldn't possibly have been worse that our American school lunches!

When I was a high school freshman, we had 2 Swedish exchange students, that were juniors, I think. They were devastated to leave So Cal and go back to Sweden. I really think it was just the weather they were going to miss. And the beach.

[Hellsinkey]

Speaking of tv . . .
In the 70s

Reading all of this makes me understand why all kids in Sweden admired and wanted to go to America in the 70s and 80s. It was really a different world.

The 70s were pretty crap here, the rapid economic decline notwithstanding. Sweden dropped from 4th place in the OECD GDP ranking to outside the top 10 and the country and people became visibly poorer. TV and movies were censored for all signs of violence or sex and in theatres often given an adults only rating. And there were only 2 tv channels both state operated and mostly running weird domestic productions or whatever they could buy cheaply from America or for kids programming mostly Eastern Europe. Crime and violence was peaking so all this free play outside maybe happened in villages but not in cities or suburbs, you played at friends' homes - after letting both sets of parents know you were going there - or in designated playgrounds where there always were parents around. Oh and food was atrocious, mostly artificial prefab stuff with tons of additives before they started regulating it. Worst of all were the school lunches and they were mandatory.

When I was a high school freshman, we had 2 Swedish exchange students, that were juniors, I think. They were devastated to leave So Cal and go back to Sweden. I really think it was just the weather they were going to miss. And the beach.

Talking of exchange students, one of my friends with whom I was in a band with, was an exchange student in Eureka, California in the mid 80's. He got to see Mr. Bungle play a few times at their school, they were a local band. What's even cooler, was that he lived with Ethan Miller's family, who became a musician later. I've met him and strangely we played a private gig to Ethan and his wife, when they visited here.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howlin_Rain

[Hatchets Molly]

Has anyone mentioned the family structure - in the US - during the 70s and how vastly different it is today?

My dad worked, my mom stayed home, and did mom things, as did most, if not all of my friends.

He was a manager of a successful hotel in the city, so we were considered upper middle-class. We had nice things, but nothing special.

Today my dad's salary probably wouldn't pay the rent on a basic two-bedroom apartment, and my mom would definitely have to go to work.

Didn't realize how easy we had it during those times.

I am an only child, so I didn't have older siblings to influence me or tell me what Mom and Dad were up to. I never realized (because I was never at a loss for anything) that we didn't have a lot. We rented homes/apartments until I was in high school. Both of my parents worked, but neither had college degrees (my Dad got his later in life). I didn't realize how little they earned until looking at my old college financial aid paperwork as examples when my kid went to college. We always owned used cars. Never went on a real vacation (we lived only 30 minutes from Clearwater, FL, so there was that). Yet, I was ignorant of that and loved my childhood.

[rubysdad]

Television was black and white.
I started school.
My brother arrived.
Cream buns or sausage rolls for school lunch.
AC/DC and The Angels.
Then ABBA arrived and everyone went nuts.
Summer days at the pool.
Fish and chips on Friday nights.
We ran, because it was fun.
Then, in 1979 I saw Kiss on Countdown and everything changed.

[Love_Industry]

Speaking of tv . . .
In the 70s

Reading all of this makes me understand why all kids in Sweden admired and wanted to go to America in the 70s and 80s. It was really a different world.

The 70s were pretty crap here, the rapid economic decline notwithstanding. Sweden dropped from 4th place in the OECD GDP ranking to outside the top 10 and the country and people became visibly poorer. TV and movies were censored for all signs of violence or sex and in theatres often given an adults only rating. And there were only 2 tv channels both state operated and mostly running weird domestic productions or whatever they could buy cheaply from America or for kids programming mostly Eastern Europe. Crime and violence was peaking so all this free play outside maybe happened in villages but not in cities or suburbs, you played at friends' homes - after letting both sets of parents know you were going there - or in designated playgrounds where there always were parents around. Oh and food was atrocious, mostly artificial prefab stuff with tons of additives before they started regulating it. Worst of all were the school lunches and they were mandatory.

Really? That's so interesting. I've never heard that before.
How did they turn that around? Because for the last few decades, Sweden has been one of the safest places to live, from what I've read.
And what were you eating for lunch at school? It couldn't possibly have been worse that our American school lunches!

When I was a high school freshman, we had 2 Swedish exchange students, that were juniors, I think. They were devastated to leave So Cal and go back to Sweden. I really think it was just the weather they were going to miss. And the beach.

Maybe you heard that Prime Minister Olof Palme was murdered? That was 1986, but it didn't come out of nowhere. In the 1970s we had terrorism against embassies, armed gangs robbing banks and stuff like that?

The turnaround? Well in the 1990s three things happened: The economy hit rock bottom, violence and murder peaked with some high profile neonazi murders - google "Malexander" and "John Hron", and in the late 90s the internet boom happened. So there was awareness and action against racism, crime and violence at all levels in society, and the internet boom meant that for the first time in decades, the country wasn't declining and people could see and feel that. It really was a turnaround, Sweden in 1999 was a different and much better country than in say 1991.

As for the Swedish kids, they may have missed the weather and the beach, summers weren't that great back then but now we have climate change Strangely enough people back then didn't want to admit that the country was declining, and still many think the 70s and 80s were some kind of golden age despite evidence to the contrary. Mostly people too young to actually remember but still. And they certainly didn't experience the school lunches of the era - try googling kålpudding, blodpudding, lapskojs or levergryta, and imagine bad and cheap versions of those